… don’t the system work YOU!
Thanks to my psychic friend Ms. Cox who suggested that I blog about contacting your cable/internet provider and/or wireless provider to make sure that you are getting the best option for your money. What she didn’t know was that I was on the phone with Verizon FIOS downgrading our services! Psychic I tell you. You watch out for that Foxy Coxy.
Onto the savings. Our previous bill was for a Triple Play Bundle – Ultimate HD, 25/25 Fios Internet, and Phone and 1 HD box. We never used the phone. Well, except for pesky telemarketers who I ASSURED that Frank Blah Blah Blah did not live here, yet insisted on calling daily to ask for him. This Triple Play Bundle, I’m really, REALLY embarrassed to say, was costing us approximately $145/month.
I called and spoke with a wonderful woman named Susan, who generously looked up all of the packages that would be better suited for our needs. She came up with 2 options for us, both involving cable and internet as we had no need for the phone.
Verizon Fios Double Play#1: Ultimate HD with approximately 275 channels (see listing below for Richmond offerings, HD only), and 25/25 internet (not sure what that means other than faster). Price for our area: $79.99/month with 2-year contract.*
Verizon Fios Double Play #2: Prime HD with approximately 180 channels (see listing below for Richmond offerings, HD only), and 15/5 internet (not sure what that means other slightly less fast). Price for our area: $64.99/month with 2-year contract.*
The biggest difference I noticed was that Prime HD did not include that National Geographic channel – but it still had our staples: History HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD… and, with streaming Netflix, a lot of National Geographic programs are available at our viewing pleasure. Luckily both services offer QVC HD, a channel that is unbeatable in HD quality.
I couldn’t find any of the offers Susan spoke about online other than 3 free months of HBO & Cinemax, and the following ad from Verizon’s website which isn’t the same as what Susan told me (especially considering it involves a changing price after several months of service):
My advice is to mention that you are looking around for other offers – which I did – I scoped Comcast’s Double Play bundle offered at $69.99 with 6 months of HBO.
So, round about this time next month we should get our first bill for something along the lines of $80/month (including our HD box and some taxes). Much better than those $145/month bills. I feel silly.
Other things worth “working” the system:
- Refinancing your home loan at somewhere like CapCenter for $0 in closing costs
- Checking your homeowners or renter’s insurance for discounts such as a discounted car insurance from the same provider (I personally saved $13), or paying online monthly for $3+ off per month (from State Farm)
- Calling your wireless provider to change to a plan with less minutes rather than unlimited depending on your past usage
- Changing your 401k donation to a percentage rather than a dollar value to make sure that you are making the most of your company’s matching policy (in the event of a raise, cost of living, etc.)
I’m getting ready to “tweak” our service with Directv. We switched to them last year and it cut our cable bill dramatically. Our year of rebates is almost up which means things will be going back to full price.
I’m debating on cancelling our phone. We switched to T-Mobile at home years ago and fulfilled our contract requirement. Although our home phone only costs us $15/month we hardly ever use it. But, lots of important phone calls come to our home phone number. I’m on the fence.
Speaking of T-Mobile, I call them a lot. Usually it’s to chew them out about their phone plans. Our cell phone bill is ridic, but both hubby & I have smart phones and use every available feature so I’m pretty certain we’ll stay where we’re at.
About homeowner’s insurance…don’t be afraid to shop your rate every few years. We’ve done it three times since we bought our home in 2002. The first switch saved us over $1000/year. Huge! I recently switched again and it saved us about $500. Our current policy also qualifies us for a discount on our car insurance.
If you have a financial loss of some sort – our case was going from 2 incomes to 1 – and a refi isn’t possible then consider asking for a loan modification. Yes, it tacks on to the life of your loan, but it helps out a lot. Instead of struggling to make that mortgage payment that was once based off a loan figured for two incomes, you’ll be able to breathe easier. We just recently did this. Our rate went from variable to fixed and dropped to 4.5%. Our monthly mortgage payment has been lowered by about $600.
If I think of anything else, I’ll email you!
OK, so we talked on g-chat about joining the PTA. Here is the link to the benefits: http://www.pta.org/member_benefit_providers.asp
We have cell service with T-Mobile and we receive 15% off our monthly bill. Unfortunately, their benefits are limited & specific, but membership IS open to anyone. The $5 membership (yearly) may be worth the discount.
Another way to save is to go on the budget plan with your utilities. Dominion Power & Virginia Natural Gas will set up budget plans. Don’t think of this as behind “ghetto” or unable to pay your bills. Instead, think of it as knowing exactly what you’ll pay each month instead of being floored by a $450 electric bill due to either heat or a/c. We went budget a few years ago before the first big gas price hike. Even though my bills don’t have the seasonal fluctuations like they once did, it is nice knowing that my electric bill is never more than $115 at any point of the year and that our gas bill is never more than $40. They will take an average of your last 12 months of usage. Your budget amount will fluctuate throughout the year, but basically you’re going to have the same bill amount with no surprises. Make sense?